


if you're ready for love (this i will bring)

by orphan_account



Series: Prompts [3]
Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt and comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Prom Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 12:04:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17425544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “What are you talking about?” Eddie laughed, coming to sit on top of the bench beside Richie. He took the smoke from between Richie’s fingers, pressed it into the table to put it out and flicked it off into the night. “Polyamorous Six-Some? What is that?”“Well…” Richie cracked the joints in his fingers awkwardly. “It’s you guys, isn’t it? You… You know what I mean.”[Prompt: 38: isnt this amazing]





	if you're ready for love (this i will bring)

Prom was such a stupid thing, Richie marveled to himself. He got to sit around in a uncomfortable as fuck suit, watching Bev and Ben make eyes at each other while Ben was too nervous to ask her to dance or watch Bill make his way through the girls in their year (stutter or no stutter, Bill was quite the catch and people had finally started to take notice), or hang around with Stan and Eddie- which would normally be his absolute favourite thing to do, if Eddie wasn’t spending his time glaring at Bill and Stan didn’t keep talking about Mike while pretending to absolutely not be talking about Mike.

So yeah, Richie bailed on the prom not even an hour in. He plopped himself down on one of the picnic tables in the quad where he could still hear the top 40s bullshit they were playing in the gym, and lit up one of the smokes he’d borrowed from Beverly earlier. He wasn’t even sure why he was so annoyed by his friends and this whole prom situation.

He’d spent a very long period of his life tolerating his love sick friends. He’d accepted his position of number seven in the seven. He had, not entirely happily, embraced the knowledge that he was The One when everything gotten divided down to three pairs of two and the singular one left over. Sometimes Richie would think about Before, when the Losers Club was just himself, Bill, Stan and Eddie. Back when things could be divided into a small, even ratio of two duos and it worked no matter how you cut it. When Eddie’s crush on Bill didn’t make Richie want to curl into a ball and he could always count on Stan to make him into a duo if everything fell apart.

Of course, Richie would never let himself dwell on that for too long, because he would never sacrifice his friendships with Beverly, Ben and Mike for anything. Richie didn’t really want those days back. Things were better now, when Richie could ignore the knowledge that he would never be loved like his friends all loved each other. So, Richie left the prom early to smoke and that was how he coped with his life at this point.

“What are you doing out here?” Eddie called, tucking his hands into the pockets of tuxedo pants while walking over to the bench. “I was in the middle of a story and I turned around to find you gone? How fucking rude, Tozier.” Eddie’s tone was light and joking and Richie shot him a grin.

“Sorry, Spaghetti,” Richie blew out a large amount of cigarette smoke which made Eddie cringe, though he didn’t move away. “The air of Polyamorous Six-Some was a little suffocating. I’m just getting some well needed fresh air.”

“What are you talking about?” Eddie laughed, coming to sit on top of the bench beside Richie. He took the smoke from between Richie’s fingers, pressed it into the table to put it out and flicked it off into the night. “Polyamorous Six-Some? What is that?”

“Well…” Richie cracked the joints in his fingers awkwardly. “It’s you guys, isn’t it? You… You know what I mean.”

“No.” Eddie said firmly, eyes narrowing and his lips turning down in a frown. “I definitely do not know what you mean. Where is that head of yours?”

Richie sighed angrily, fingers dragging through his already messed up curls. He’d put in so much effort into them that night, getting his mom to help him use gel to push it from his eyes and flatten it down. He hadn’t been able to explain to even himself why he was caring so much, until he’d gotten to limo Ben had demanded they get. Until Eddie had looked at his hair, laughed, and turned to talk to Bill. Richie had gotten to the prom, gone straight to the bathroom to wet his hair and mess it up. He’d pointedly ignored Stan’s pitying smile and dodged what surely would have been a comforting pat on the shoulder. Richie didn’t need to be comforted, comfort was just an encouragement to keep acting like an idiot.

Richie was tired of being an idiot when it came to Eddie Kaspbrak.

“It’s just…” Richie waved his hand around, as though smacking the air would clear his thoughts and make the words that come out his mouth make sense to anybody that wasn’t him. “Bev and Ben staring into each other’s eyes, all too nervous to make that first move even though we all know once that move happens they’re set for life- or Stan somehow turning every conversation into how Mike couldn’t come like we’re all not supposed to know that they’re dating, or how you-“ Richie cut and his mouth shut down into a tight thin line. He always said more than he wanted to.

“What about me?” Eddie asked, voice thin and almost breathless somehow.

“You… you fucking watching Bill flirt with girls like he’d just told you that most offensive joke about the Holocaust or… dead dogs or something.” Richie shook his head and laughed humourlessly. He wanted nothing more than to lit another smoke, but he knew there was no way Eddie was going to let that fly and God help him- Richie was still wrapped right around that finger no matter how hard he tried.

Eddie let out his own laugh, one that sounded almost bitter. “I don’t care if Bill flirts with girls, I am fully supportive of his hoe lifestyle. All the power to him.” The words, they didn’t sound bitter at all. They sounded amused and genuine, and Richie crinkled his nose in confusion.

“Okay so…”

“I don’t like Bill, Richie,” Eddie said softy. Richie glanced at him from the corner of his eye, and Eddie was looking at him. Staring at him. “I don’t, I never… Well, maybe I did, but when I was like ten and I didn’t even know so it doesn’t count.”

Richie finally turned his body so he was fully facing Eddie. Eddie, with his big eyes and perfectly styled hair, who was looking at Richie like he’d just explained string theory to him and he was waiting for Richie to catch up. “So, if it wasn’t because Bill was giving those girls the sex eyes then why were you trying to murder him with your mind?”

A look of discomfort danced across Eddie’s face. “We got into a fight. Just after we arrived, when you were in the bathroom.” Eddie shrugged.

“Why?” Richie frowned. Eddie and Bill didn’t fight.  _Richie_ and Bill fought, Richie and  _Eddie_  fought, but Eddie and Bill do not fight. “What happened?”

“He, uh,” Eddie scratched the back of his head, looking up at Richie through his lashes and looking bashful. “He was defending you, actually. Seemed to think I unjustifiably hurt your feelings.”

“I’ll be damned,” Richie’s eyebrows shot up and disappeared under this messy fringe. Bill never stood up for Richie to other members of Losers Club. Sometimes Stan did, Beverly definitely did, and Mike was always pretty quick to jump in to defend anybody if words got a little too harsh. Bill sometimes would shut down an argument if things seemed to be escalating to a point where he wanted them to shut up, but Bill wasn’t the type to actually pull Eddie aside and lecture him for ‘hurting Richie’s feelings’. “I didn’t know Bill even knew I had feelings.”

It was a joke, it was. Richie’s relationship with Bill was good, they’d had more than their fair shares of emotional bonding and if it Richie were to guess- he’d probably seen Bill open and vulnerable more than anybody else. But Eddie’s face fell and his hand moved to grab Richie’s. “You don’t actually believe-“

“No, I don’t actually believe that.” Richie rolled his eyes and slipped his hand away from Eddie’s. He didn’t indulge himself in Eddie Kaspbrak anymore. That was something Stan had advised him on, one night sitting on Stan’s bedroom floor while they both pretended that Richie wasn’t crying. “I know that our dad Bill loves me, I just- I’d never expect him to defend my honour to you.”

“Wasn’t the first time,” Eddie said simply and Richie felt his eyes widen. “Bill’s got a soft spot for our Trashmouth a mile wide, you have to know that. And he’s right, too, you know. To put me in my place sometimes. I can be…  a bit of an asshole.”

“No, Eds-“ Richie started but Eddie’s hand was reaching out to brush at Richie’s still slightly damp curls and his voice stuck painfully in his throat.  _Don’t be an idiot, Tozier. Don’t play the game because you know you’ll just loose everything. Be okay with being seven, you were always okay with seventh._

“I’m sorry I laughed at your hair,” Eddie said, so genuinely and so un-Eddie that it threw Richie’s heart through a loop. Eddie didn’t talk to Richie like this, all soft and caring. Talking to Eddie was shots and digs thrown back and forth, dirty jokes and laughing so hard you couldn’t breathe. It was never unloving, but it wasn’t comfort and compassion either. “Bill told me I’d been a dick, and really hurt you. I didn’t believe him, told him to suck some ass but then you came out of the bathroom and your hair was wet and…” Eddie shook his head and glared down at the picnic table as though it was what had offended him. “And  _I’m sorry._ Truly. Sincerely.”

“It’s okay,” Richie said quickly, wanting absolutely nothing more than for this conversation to be over. For snarky and quick of wit Eddie Kaspbrak to come back, get rid of this weird soft Eddie that was making Richie’s heart thrum in his chest.

“No, it’s not. I’m sorry, Richie, I shouldn’t have laughed at your hair and you didn’t need to wash it out,” Eddie shook his head, face crinkled up like he’d tasted something terrible. “It didn’t look bad, Rich, I swear. It looked good, I just laughed because it surprised me. It looked so un-like you, but it still- It looked good. I was just surprised.”

Richie nodded slowly. “It’s okay, Eddie. I was never mad at you.”

“Bill was mad at me,” Eddie’s hand hovered towards Richie’s hand before he dropped it again, with a twitch of his bottom lip. “I’m mad at me, too. And then when I turned and I found that you were gone, I… God, Richie, I don’t even know how to talk right now. I shouldn’t have laughed at your hair.”

“Okay, Eddie,” Richie jumped up, laughed awkwardly. “Can we stop talking about my hair and you laughing at me? You always laugh at me, Eds. It’s kind of our thing? Comic relief friend and all that shit. Let’s just go back to the dance and give Stan somebody to talk about Mike to.”

Richie started to walk away when Eddie’s hand flew out and wrapped around his wrist. Richie turned slowly, teeth digging into his bottom lip. Eddie looked up at him, eyes suddenly so sad that it whacked Richie deep in the gut. “Rich… Bill told me you did that with your hair because you wanted to impress me.” Fuck. Leave it to Bill to read Richie like an open book when Richie himself wasn’t even sure what he’d been doing. “And if that’s true, Richie, then I really shouldn’t have laughed at you.”

“Okay.” Richie nodded, still refusing to meet Eddie’s burning gaze. “I accept your apology that I didn’t really need. Can we let it go now?”

“If you want.” Richie felt Eddie stir and stand up, grabbing Richie’s other hand and tugging Richie to face him. Richie forced himself to look at Eddie. Eddie, who was looking at him with this fragile smile and whose hands were so soft and warm in Richie’s own. Stan’s voice bounced into Richie’s head, vibrating and tearing him apart.  _Maybe you need to take a break from Eddie, dude. Space._ “But you should know,  _if you were_ trying to impress me that you don’t need to.”

“What?” Richie whispered, eyes trailing over Eddie’s face. Looking for any sign of a joke or falseness in Eddie’s tone. Eddie’s smile strengthened and he stepped closer to him, their torsos pressing together in tuxedos that almost matched.

“I don’t like Bill,” Eddie said slowly, taking a pause between each word. His eyes were wide and shining and Richie couldn’t look away from them. “I don’t like Bill and you don’t need to impress me. You don’t need to slick back your hair or do anything for my attention. You’ve got it, Richie, okay? So we can let this go, if that’s still what you want but I needed you to know. I don’t like Bill, don’t ever think that again. And don’t try to impress me, because I’ll just mess it all up and I hate hurting you. I also hate having to apologize to you like some huge sappy dumbass.”

“Well, you’re pretty good at it,” Richie laughed, blinking back tears. Eddie laughed softly himself, shifting his weight as though he wanted to move closer to Richie but the physical touching of their bodies prevented it. “And..  **isn’t this amazing**  but I didn’t even fucking know I was trying to impress you until you laughed at me? It was so important to me that my hair looked good and it didn’t even know why it mattered until I thought you didn’t like it. “

Eddie just stared at Richie, giving him the distinct feeling that Eddie’s time for talking was over and he was giving Richie the floor to speak. And maybe it was the still nighttime air or Eddie in that tux or just the simple vulnerability Eddie had opened himself but Richie found himself spilling everything out. “I didn’t mean to offend you by implying you liked Bill, I just always assumed that you did. Which I guess I shouldn’t have because that’s not fair to you, and it’s probably pretty fucking rude, but you guys are so tight and you look at him like he’s your absolute hero but-“

“I used to.” Eddie interrupted. “I wasn’t offended that you thought I liked Bill, I’m sure you had your reasons. I probably did like Bill at one point, when we were younger, but he wasn’t like… my gay awakening or any of that dumb shit. That was Mike, actually.”

Richie burst out laughing, dropping his head forward so it landed onto Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie’s hands slipped from inside of Richie’s and moved around to hold onto his waist. “Mike, no kidding? Does Stanley know you’re trying to steal his mans?”

Eddie giggled. “I had my gay awakening way before he was Stanley’s ‘mans’. Remember when he picked me up and tossed me into the basket of his bike? Even totally freaking out with my broken fucking arm, I knew that was hot shit.”

“Gay ass.” Richie pulled away from Eddie, scraping his fingers into Eddie’s hair as Eddie’s hands travelled up his back. “So, Bill and Mike? You got some long lingering feelings for Stanley, too? Maybe secretly hoping Ben’s going to slip some erotic poetry into your locker?”

“Beep, beep,” Eddie rolled his eyes, whacking Richie lightly- almost playfully- on the back. “If anybody is secretly holding a flame for Stanley Uris, it’s you, Tozier. I’ve seen the way your eyes light up when he threatens you. Unsurprisingly kinky.”

Richie snorted. He and Eddie giggled in each other’s space for a moment before Eddie’s teasing gaze turned serious once again. “You called us all the Polyamorous Six-Some or something? You didn’t include yourself. I don’t want you to think that stuff. And maybe I’m not your confidant or anything, I know you go to Stan with your emotional blurting’s but I can listen to. And I promise I won’t give you shit.”

Richie leaned down so his nose brushed against Eddie’s just once. “You can be my confidant, Eddie Spaghetti, if you wanted.” He swallowed hard. “I’d let you be  _anything_  you wanted for me.”

Eddie’s eyes widened and he exhaled hard. His hands gripped tightly at the back of Richie’s tux jacket and pressed his body all the closer. Richie rested one hand on the side of Eddie’s neck and let the other come to rest on his shoulder. “Richie, I don’t like Bill.” Eddie said quickly, so quickly Richie barely understood him.

“So you keep telling me,” Richie whispered. Eddie tilted his head back, so their nose remained touching and their breath ghosted each other’s lips. “But what does that mean?”

Eddie swallowed and his eyes fluttered close. “I don’t like Bill and I never really liked Mike, either. I only liked him for a few days, a few panicky days of gay panic, before I realized that there was somebody I actually did like. Somebody who wasn’t nice or sweet like Mike, but would hold onto my face when I’m scared and snap my arm back into place and would call me bullshit nicknames no matter how many times I told him not to….”

Richie squeezed Eddie’s shoulder and he knew Eddie could feel how hard he was breathing. “Some big dumb gay idiot who doesn’t even realized he’s doing things to impress me until they don’t- because he’s had me disgustingly and unfortunately impressed since we were thirteen. Even when he’s some big dumb gay idiot.”

“I think it’s especially then,” Richie said, shooting Eddie half a smirk. “Because you came out here to find the big dumb gay idiot out the second you noticed he wasn’t by your side. Because you were afraid that you’d hurt him. Because…”

“I love that big dumb gay idiot,” Eddie whispered happily. Richie’s smirk broke into a huge, face splitting smile and Eddie tugged him by the hips and sealed their lips together.


End file.
